BRUSSELS (AP) – A shipment of more than a quarter of a million AstraZeneca vaccines destined for Australia has been banned from leaving the European Union, with the first use of an export control system set up by the bloc to secure make large pharmaceutical companies respect their contracts. .
The move, which affects only a small number of vaccines, highlights growing frustration in the 27-nation bloc over the slow introduction of the vaccine and the shortage of promised deliveries of vaccines, particularly by the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca.
The ban comes on the orders of Italy and the EU has not objected to the stricter line adopted by Rome over the shortage of vaccines in the bloc since a new government led by Mario Draghi came to power on 13 February.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Friday he expected veto problems in European transport, adding that Australia’s vaccination scheme would continue according to plan.
“They are in an unresolved crisis situation. That is not the situation in Australia, “said Morrison. “Still, we were able to secure our inventory and additional supplies for imports, both with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which means we can continue implementing our program.”
He said Australia also produces domestic vaccination and gives sovereignty over its vaccination program.
Italy’s objections focused both on the general shortage of supplies in the EU and on ‘the delay in the delivery of vaccines by AstraZeneca to the EU and Italy’, reads a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is said that it also intervened due to the size of the shipment, more than 250,700 doses, which would go to Australia, which according to him was not a vulnerable nation.
Italy said it had notified the company on Tuesday. AstraZeneca declined to comment. The Financial Times reported on the issue for the first time late Thursday.
Faced with the shortage of doses during the early stages of the vaccine campaign that began in late December, the EU issued an export control system for COVID-19 vaccines at the end of January, forcing companies to honor their contractual obligations to the bloc before commercial exports can take place. approved.
The EU was particularly angry with AstraZeneca for delivering far fewer doses to the bloc than it had promised. From the initial order of 80 million doses to the EU in the first quarter, the company will struggle to deliver only half of the quantity.
There were rumors that the company would move from EU production plants to other countries, but CEO Pascal Soriot insisted that the shortfall should only be blamed on technical production issues.
The EU has vaccinated only 8% of its population compared to more than 30%, for example in the United Kingdom. Australia is still very much at the start of its vaccination.
With such an action, the EU is trapped. On the one hand, it is under intense pressure to boost vaccine production in the block, while on the other hand it wants to remain an attractive hub for pharmaceutical giants and a fair trading partner for third countries.
The EU thought it had made perfect preparations for the introduction of vaccinations, which had funded much research and production capacity over the past year. With its 450 million people, the EU has signed agreements for six different vaccines. In total, it ordered up to 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and entered into agreements with other companies for more than 2 billion shots.
It says that despite the current problems, it is still convinced that by the end of the summer it can vaccinate 70% of the adult population.
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Danica Kirka contributed from London, Colleen Barry from Milan and Nick Perry from Wellington, New Zealand.